N.J. Boy Recounts Extremely Close Encounter With Bird At Six Flags

This is what Shane Matus looked like after he was struck by a bird while riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure last week. (Photo: Handout)

HOWELL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — It was a roller coaster ride with a very unexpected scare. A young boy’s decision to sit in the front seat could have killed him — thanks to a mid-ride collision with a bird!

One minute 12-year-old Shane Matus and his friend Anthony Vozza were zipping through the air at more than 100 mph and the next:

“It was like one motion,” he told CBS 2’s Amy Dardashtian as he demonstrated the path the bird took.

It was a swoosh that lasted a split second, but one that left Matus with a burning sensation on his face and neck.

“I really just grabbed my neck and I’m like ‘Oh my God! Oh my God. I got hit by a bird!’” he said.

It happened Thursday afternoon at Six Flags Great Adventure on Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest roller coaster. Matus said he dropped from the highest point, then went over that hump just before heading into the station and that’s when the bird smashed into his neck.

“The funny thing was the people were laughing at him and then they realized they had blood and feathers on them and they were like ‘Ew! Ew!’” Vazzo said.

“Like when I saw the other people get off I just saw, like, blood drops and feathers on their face,” Matus said.

The ride was shut down and Matus was rushed to the hospital. Four days later his bruises were practically healed. Meanwhile, he’s become a local celebrity.

“Yeah, his friends keep texting him and calling him,” Matus’ father said.

But he’s too busy for fame. He’s getting ready to head back to Six Flags to ride Kingda Ka all over again.

The park said the incident was truly an act of nature and nothing like that had ever happened there before.